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Penny and Cup Game
Category:Biology in elementary schools Penny and cup game Student worthiness Tried and trusted. Primary biological content area covered The human body; Senses, more specifically the sense of sight. Materials Materials required for teacher's use: *copy of the lesson Materials required for each student group: *pennies *short glass cup *water *paper towels Materials required for each individual student: *something to write with *handout Handouts Description of activity To figure out if one eye is better than two, students will test their sense of sight with both monocular and biocular vision. Students will drop a penny and see if it lands in the cup of water. They will have to rely on their sense of sight for this activity. Lesson plan The goal: To test whether two eyes are better than one! *Fill glass cups/jars half way with water before students begin. The water is to ensure that the cup/jar does not break. *Have students pair up. *Have students hypothesize about which eye(s) they think will give them the best results (most pennies in the cup). Students should record this on their handouts. *Students will take about 12 pennies each (depending on the amount of pennies available). *Partners should sit across from each other and take turns testing and recording their results. *One student picks up a penny, and with both eyes open, move their arm over the cup and drop it; trying to make the penny fall into the glass. The arm should be at head-level (the head and arm should make about a 45 degree angle). *Partners take turns so that each get a turn doing the previous step. *Next, one student should pick up a penny, and with one eye closed, move their arm over the cup and drop it; trying to get the penny into the glass. * The partner should repeat this step. *Lastly, one student should pick up a penny, and with the other eye closed, move their arm over the cup and drop it; trying to get the penny into the glass. *The partner should repeat this step. *Now, the students can compare their results to your predictions. *Which way is better? Which is your dominant eye? Answer questions on the handout. Potential pitfalls *Glass breakage; make sure that there is water in the cups/jars. *Be careful with the pennies; we don't want anyone to get a penny in the eye! Math connections *Fractions! How many pennies out of all you were given did you get in? Write it as a fraction. *What percentage of pennies did you get into the cup? *You need to make sure that you and your partner both have an equal amount of six pennies. *Students can make graphs to compare the results with each eye and both eyes. Literature connection Sense of Sight by Carey Molter Sight by Kay Woodward Connections to educational standards *S3-4:2-S3-4:2- Identifying simple patterns of evidence used to develop a prediction and propose an explanation *S3-4:4- Conducting experiments according to the VT Standards Expectations under this category *S3-4:6- Students are able to analyze data *S3-4:7- Students are able to explain data Next steps Would this experiment be different if you used colored cups instead of clear ones? Does the clarity of the cup make this experiment easier or harder? Try closing your eyes and having your partner tell you where to drop your penny. Try this with one eye and then two eyes. Which is easier? Do you find yourself missing the cup more often? Citations and links This Penny and Cup idea came from the PBS ZOOM website. You can find this idea at http://pbskids.org/zoom/activities/sci/pennycupgame.html Educational Standards for this experiment can be found on the Vermont Educational Standards website http://education.vermont.gov/new/html/pgm_curriculum/science/gle.html